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Memorial Sloan-Kettering Patient Daisy Espadas Ms. Espadas takes music lessons through the
Musicians On Call program. Her guitar was donated through by the Mojo Guitar Shop in Manhattan's East Village. |
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Benefits to Patients
"Music promotes a person's will to be healed, and that's a very positive thing," said Richard J. O'Reilly, Chairman of MSKCC's Department of Pediatrics. "Musicians On Call has been a real gift to many of the kids, as well as an extraordinary experience for the adults." In addition organizing performances throughout hospital, Musicians On Call offers music lessons for patients. Volunteers can also be seen heard the playroom, enticing pediatric patients their siblings to participate in "jam sessions" with instruments such as bongos and tambourines.
"I have found that what the musicians bring — in their music and their personalities — has had amazing effects on not only the patients and their families, but also the staff and the entire environment in which the department operates," said Jill Ackerman, Administrative Manager in Pediatrics.
Other Services
Musicians On Call also provides opportunities for patients to attend concerts and stocks the CD library in Pediatrics with all the latest music. The group is now piloting a song-writing program, which will provide teenagers with computer software to create their own songs, which will then berecorded on CD.
Musicians On Call hopes to replicate its program in many hospitals. More information is available at www.musiciansoncall.org.
